Rock Bottom
by SunBinamra
Summary: Levy teaches Jellal a thing or two about love and forgiveness. Oneshot, canon-compliant


**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **Fairy Tail**_

Jellal chuckled as he watched the Fairy Tail mages make a complete mess of Lucy's award ceremony. The woman of the hour was screeching nonstop at her family, but Jellal didn't miss the wide smile on her face. Unbidden his eyes drifted to the striking red hair of one Erza Scarlet.

She looked so beautiful tonight. Radiant with pride and happiness for her friend (and a lovely blush from the champagne flute in her hand), Jellal couldn't take his eyes off the requip mage. His mouth quirked up in a half smile as he took a sip from his own champagne flute.

"Enjoying the party?" Jellal turned to find Levy McGarden (or was it Redfox now?) beaming at his side.

"Yes. Although perhaps not as much as they are," he nodded to a cackling Natsu and Happy raiding the buffet table. Levy giggled.

"They are a rowdy bunch, aren't they?" she laughed. The two sat in companionable silence for a bit, watching the Fairy Tail mages get progressively drunker. Erza in particular didn't seem to be holding her alcohol well. Jellal muffled a snicker when she started roaring at Jet and Droy about… honestly, he had no idea what was going on but he was glad not to be either of those poor fools.

Speaking of Team Shadowgear, Jellal glanced curiously at his unexpected companion. He and Levy had spoken before, but they were not close. Of everyone here, why had Levy chosen to keep him company?

"Soooo, what's the deal between you and Erza?" Levy waggled her eyebrows. Oh, that would be why.

"Nothing, we are just good friends," Jellal said gently. Levy raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Because friends don't look at each other the way you look at Erza, Jellal." Well, she had him there.

"... It's complicated," Jellal said after a pause. Levy hummed.

"I get it, believe me. But after all the hell you two have been through, don't you think you deserve a chance at happiness?" Jellal snorted.

"Considering I put her through a great deal of hell myself, I don't think I do," he said lightly. But he meant it. Erza was too good for someone like him.

Levy pursed her lips and eyed him, but didn't comment. The two resumed people-watching in silence.

"She misses you, you know," Levy broke the quiet. Jellal looked down.

"She is too kind," he muttered. A pause, then, "But I miss her as well."

"Because you love her," Levy stated. It was not a question. Jellal exhaled and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yes, I do," he admitted. Levy side-eyed him.

"I'm pretty sure she loves you too, you know." Jellal grimaced.

"So it would seem." Levy fully turned to face him.

"So if you both love each other, why haven't you talked about it?" she demanded. Jellal's hand tightened around the glass.

"Like I said, it's complicated," he said firmly, hoping to end the conversation there. But Fairy Tail mages were nothing if not stubborn.

"Relationships are complicated, Jellal. That's just how it is. But nothing changes if you two aren't willing to put in the work. I know Erza is willing, but she's holding back because you're dragging your feet," Levy lectured him. "I get that you're scared, and with the past between you two there are… other challenges, but she's hurting, Jellal. She won't wait for you forever." Jellal smiled sadly.

"I know. I am counting on her to give up on me soon," he said. Levy glared at him.

"You're just going to give up?!" Jellal sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Levy, she deserves so much better than me," he said.

"Well, doesn't Erza deserve to get what she wants?"

"Of course she does!"

"Then what if she wants _you_ , dummy? I mean, I don't think she even knows how you feel!" Jellal frowned.

"Good. She does not need that burden." Levy groaned.

"Jellal, you should tell her," Levy argued. "It's only hurting both of you to keep dancing around each other like this."

"Look, I appreciate the concern, Levy, but you don't understand," Jellal snapped. He winced at the harsh tone and immediately began to apologize when Levy interrupted.

"You think I don't understand?" she asked quietly. Levy looked at Jellal and the older man froze at the emotions in her eyes.

"Jellal," Levy began, absentmindedly playing with her glass. "Do you know how Gajeel and I met?" He shook his head. Levy sighed and looked down.

"He beat me within an inch of my life, branded me, then pinned me to a tree along with my two best friends," she said bluntly. "Then he proceeded to destroy our guild hall." Jellal's mind went blank.

"Oh Levy… I-I'm so sorry, I didn't…" he stammered but Levy cut him off.

"He was part of a guild, Phantom Lord, that Lucy's dad hired to bring her home. He hurt Lucy too, and only stopped after Natsu beat the crap out of him. Of course, I only found out about this later because I was unconscious in the medical ward the entire time." Jellal gaped and looked to where Gajeel was needling Natsu about Anna Heartfilia. The cheeky grin on his face, the good-natured teasing, it was nothing like what Levy described.

"I was terrified of him. And I felt so betrayed when Master Makarov invited Gajeel to be part of Fairy Tail. How could Master do that after what he'd done? I stopped going to the guild hall. I couldn't be anywhere near him without having a panic attack, and the nightmares just wouldn't go away. I still have some scars," Levy said matter-of-factly. Jellal was speechless.

"The others told me that Gajeel, while still an asshole, was not nearly as bad as he was before." Jellal raised an eyebrow at the profanity. Levy didn't seem like that type.

"I thought they were just trying to make me feel better so I would come to the guild again. But then Gajeel saved me from Laxus." Jellal blinked.

"Wait, Laxus attacked you too?!"

"Oh, he attacked everyone, set us against each other in some insane bid for power," Levy said airily. "But that's a whole different story. Anyway, after that I started seeing Gajeel differently. I mean, I was still scared of him, but also curious. Maybe he really was trying to change? I didn't know. Then the whole Oración Seis deal happened, plus we were sent to Edolas, and somehow in that time Gajeel and I formed a friendship-truce, of sorts." Levy paused and bit her lip. Unconsciously Jellal leaned forward, completely captivated by her story.

"And then it was time for the S-Class trials. I was selected as one of the candidates, and guess who volunteered to be my partner? The Iron Dragon Slayer himself." Levy grinned. "He promised me he was going to make me big. He looked and sounded so serious about it, I think that's the point when I truly stopped being afraid of Gajeel."

She fell silent, and after a moment of impatience Jellal prompted, "And then what?"

"Then Grimoire Heart showed up." Jellal sucked in a breath. "I was cornered by two of their mages, and I thought for sure I was going to die. Then Gajeel appears out of nowhere and saves me, again. So we fought them together." Levy smiled dreamily. "He really is beautiful in battle when you aren't the opponent."

Jellal coughed uncomfortably. "Right…" Levy blinked and shook herself out of her daydream.

"Right. Um, do that was probably the moment when I trusted Gajeel completely. He'd proven to me, several times over, that he had changed and this was the final act." Levy smiled. "And from then on, we were friends. It wasn't until the Grand Magic Games that I developed a crush on him." She giggled, remembering the awkward dancing around and pining on both their parts.

The script mage appeared lost in her memories so Jellal gently prompted, "And how did you two get to where you are today?" Levy was still smiling, but it dimmed a bit.

"We took some jobs together, and began to hang out more. I wasn't completely sure I loved him until…" she took a deep breath, the glass in her hands trembling slightly. "Until I lost him in the war against Alvarez. Or, I thought I lost him because of that damn Bloodman..." Levy trailed off, shuddering at the memory. Jellal placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She shot him a grateful smile before straightening.

"And the rest is history! I think we knew each other's feelings for a while, but the war really brought them into focus." Jellal mulled this over for a bit, Levy content to let him digest her story.

"I confess, I am still unsure how you were able to get past your initial… encounter," Jellal said carefully.

"I told you, over time I got to know the real Gajeel. The Gajeel who attacked me is long gone." Jellal nodded thoughtfully.

"So Gajeel was also possessed by black magic?" Levy waved her hand.

"Oh no, Gajeel wasn't possessed or being manipulated or anything like that… he was just lost."

Jellal spluttered. "Just _lost_?! Levy, you said you were in the infirmary for days!"

"Yes," Levy said firmly. "I'm not justifying his actions, or excusing his choices in any way. What Gajeel did was wrong, horrible in fact, and he knows this. What I am trying to say is that people change." Levy looked directly into Jellal's eyes.

"The Gajeel I love worked extremely hard to overcome his past, and strove to better himself as a mage and as a person. He has never made excuses for his past, and fully owns that." She raised an eyebrow. "It sounds an awful lot like someone else I know." Jellal chose to ignore that comment for the time being.

"And so, what? You two just pretend it never happened or that it wasn't a big deal? It's that easy?" Jellal asked, still not understanding. Levy rolled her eyes.

"No, of course it isn't easy, Jellal. We've worked through a lot, but there are days when the guilt is so strong Gajeel can't be around me or days where I can't look him in the eye because I had a nightmare. But we love each other, and we're going to keep working on this." Levy smiled sadly. "I don't expect his shame, or my trauma, to ever really go away. That's not realistic. But I do know that our past will not define our future. Besides," the bluenette grinned mischievously. "We've already seen each other at our worst, hit rock bottom so to speak, so it can only get better from here, right?" Jellal blinked.

"I've never thought of it that way," he said quietly.

"Clearly, or we wouldn't be having this conversation," Levy teased. Jellal smiled back and playfully pushed her shoulder.

"You have me there." His smile slowly faded. "But I do not think Erza and I… regardless of our feelings, we can't just jump into a relationship and hope for the best."

"No, you can't," Levy agreed. "But I think you could start building a relationship, even a platonic one, by being open with one another." She gazed at Jellal sadly. "Have you and Erza ever talked about the Tower of Heaven?" Jellal flinched.

"No, we haven't. I… neither of us like to think about it." Levy hummed in understanding.

"I get it. Those are painful memories. But Jellal, the pain will only fester if you shove it down. It's better to address it as soon as possible." Jellal looked down, knowing she was right. Levy nudged his side.

"Look, I'm not going to push you when clearly you aren't ready, but please think about it? I hate to see my friends suffer." Jellal looked up at that.

"We're friends?" he asked in surprise. Levy stared, then started laughing.

"Well, we fought a war together and I just bared my soul to you, so I would hope so," she snickered. Jellal grinned sheepishly.

"You have a point," he chuckled. Levy giggled one last time before taking a step forward.

"I'm glad we had this talk, Jellal. As your _friend_ ," she emphasized the last word. "And Erza's I only want the best for you guys. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find my dragonslayer and force him to dance." Jellal smiled and nodded as she walked away.

Levy paused then turned back. "Oh, and Jellal? You are neither a bad person nor a coward for wanting to take your time, okay? Just don't wait forever." She gave one last smile before skipping away to find Gajeel.

Left alone with his thoughts once more, Jellal observed as Levy found her lover and, as promised, dragged him onto the dancefloor. The normally fierce iron dragonslayer was spluttering and tripping the whole time. The scene was much more meaningful now that Jellal knew exactly what a rocky start the couple had had.

The heavenly body mage swirled the champagne in his glass thoughtfully. Levy had given him much to ponder. His eyes chose that moment to wander to (zero in on) Erza, who had roped poor Nab into dancing… er, spinning? He's never seen a person spin quite that fast. But it was the intense concentration, the determination to put her all into even something as simple as dancing that captivated Jellal. Surely she would put just as much effort, maybe even more, into overcoming their tragic past?

Jellal smiled to himself. Perhaps it was time they started working their way up from rock bottom, after all.


End file.
